Quote - Europe has more public transit options...

Wish it were still true. Twenty years ago, I could take the train to the university, first a 5 minute walk to the train station, 40 minutes by train, then a 10 minute bicycle ride.  Less than an hour overall, and the trains ran every 30 minutes, very reliably.
Nowadays, this same trip takes over 2 hours, IF the trains are on time. One train every hour, instead of one every 30 minutes. The costs - even with gas prices as high as they are, my ecomomy car is cheaper (almost 40 mpg), and even with the traffic jams I can get there faster than by public transport.
I do NOT live in a remote rural area, I live close to one of the major cities of the Netherlands (Arnhem) and the university is located in another major city (Utrecht). Distance: 50 km (about 30 miles).

As for the differences in income, in the Netherlands incomes are more evenly spread out. Not that many multimillionaires here, but not that many abject poor either. It's not as easy to find a job as in the US, but it's not as easy to lose one either. Social security is more encompassing, but is paid for by high taxes.
My main gripe about the Dutch economic situation is the enormous amount of money and time wasted on administration and an absurd belief in free market economics everywhere, especially in areas where free market economics just don't work. Health insurance, for example - the insurance companies are required by law to cover a precisely defined broad range of treatments, so wha't is there to compete with? Coverage? It's all the same, by law. Insurance premiums? Not much difference there, low premiums would bankrupt the insurance companies. Extra insurances are the only options to be different from the next company, the only real competition option. And what happens? A large percentage of the insurance premiums are spent on advertising, not on paying for medical treatment. Another thing that happens: doctors and other medical practitioners have to negotiate contracts with lots of different insurance companies, and have to do bucketloads of administration (a friend of mine told me over 30% of his time is used for administration, instead of less than 10% under the previous system). This time is taken away from what doctors want to do - medical treatment. Medical care is getting far more expensive than it used to be or needs to be.

Alas, the US don't have a monopoly on idiots in the government....

The pen is mightier than the sword. But if you literally want to have some impact, use a typewriter

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